Conflict Management Practice 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Two departments conflict because they share a limited budget. This is best classified as:
- Interpersonal conflict
- Role ambiguity conflict
- Resource conflict (Correct answer)
- Values-based conflict
Correct answer: Resource conflict
Resource conflict arises when multiple parties compete for the same finite resources such as budget, staff, or equipment.
Question 2: A manager mediating a conflict asks each party, 'What outcome would make this situation acceptable to you?' This technique is called:
- Position probing
- Interest mapping
- Future-focused questioning (Correct answer)
- Concession anchoring
Correct answer: Future-focused questioning
Future-focused questions shift attention from past grievances to workable outcomes, opening space for creative solutions.
Question 3: Which conflict de-escalation technique involves acknowledging the other party's emotions before presenting your own perspective?
- Strategic silence
- Empathic validation (Correct answer)
- Positional framing
- Attribution retraining
Correct answer: Empathic validation
Empathic validation lowers emotional defenses by showing you understand how the other person feels before advocating for your own view.
Question 4: A team member uses sarcasm and passive-aggressive comments instead of directly raising a concern. This communication style is:
- Assertive
- Aggressive
- Passive-aggressive (Correct answer)
- Submissive
Correct answer: Passive-aggressive
Passive-aggressive behavior expresses negative feelings indirectly, avoiding direct confrontation while still signaling displeasure.
Question 5: When is 'competing' an appropriate conflict management style?
- When preserving the relationship is more important than the outcome
- When a quick decision on a safety issue is required (Correct answer)
- When both parties have equal stakes in the outcome
- When neither party has strong feelings about the issue
Correct answer: When a quick decision on a safety issue is required
Competing is justified in emergencies or ethical crises where speed and decisiveness outweigh the need for consensus.
Question 6: What is a common pitfall of accommodation as a conflict resolution style?
- It damages relationships by being overly aggressive
- It leaves the accommodating party's needs consistently unmet (Correct answer)
- It requires too many resources to implement
- It creates confusion about who is in charge
Correct answer: It leaves the accommodating party's needs consistently unmet
Chronic accommodation can breed resentment because the yielding party's needs are perpetually ignored in favor of the other side.
Question 7: Which step in a structured conflict resolution process involves both parties agreeing on what the core problem actually is?
- Option generation
- Problem definition (Correct answer)
- Implementation planning
- Outcome evaluation
Correct answer: Problem definition
Shared problem definition is critical because parties often enter conflict believing they are fighting about different things.
Conflict Management Practice 4
Two departments conflict because they share a limited budget.
This is best classified as: